Val Kilmer on a BMX bicycle in a scene from director Harmony Korine’s segment of the tri-part film THE FOURTH DIMENSION, which premiered at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival, Friday April 20, 2012. (Courtesy of San Francisco Film Society.)

Grolsch Film Works and Vice co-produced The Fourth Dimension, which was made under rules set out in a “creative brief” written by producer Eddy Moretti. Some rules are off-hand, some are epic, (“There needs to be someone wearing tap shoes,” “You must give us private entrance into another world,” for example), but out of those 50 rules “use a bike” was not one of them. Nevertheless, two of the three directors did, so tip of the helmet.

The audience was pretty well lubed-up on free Grolsch beers — at least up in the Sundance Kabuki’s awesome and roomy balcony, where you can drink booze purchased at the Kabuki bar. The directors, marquee star Val Kilmer in a jaunty hat, and Moretti were all in attendance — some of them seemed pretty well lubed-up, too.

The Harmony Korine (Gummo) segment stars Kilmer as himself — or maybe he’s really some other famous screen and TV star named “Val Kilmer.” Either one is a possibility, and maybe even both at the same time– this is the fourth dimension, after all. He’s some sort of motivational speaker and he spends most of his screen time preaching to a picaresque group gathered in a roller skating rink lined with neon signs and lit with disco lights. (Roller rinks truly are one of the great all-American filming locations.) Korine used a panoramic screen aspect ratio here – about 4 to 1 – which emphasizing the rink’s horizontal, low-ceiling space.

.

Kilmer also provides what amounts as the official song of the movie, a made-up tune — again, one of the rules. Let’s just say he’s not channeling Jim Morrison in this role. When he’s not preaching positive personal power to the other characters or directly to the camera, “Val Kilmer” spends much of his screen time hunching his 6-foot, 53 year-old frame over a BMX bike pedaling through the quiet summertime streets of outer Nashville. He hangs out with his girlfriend, goes for a nighttime swim, plays video games. You get the feeling that Harmony Korine copped much of the script from his own diary, perfectly fitting for the fourth dimension.

.

A scene from Aleksei Fedorchenko’s segment of the tri-part film THE FOURTH DIMENSION, playing at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 19 – May 3, 2012. (Courtesy of San Francisco Film Society.)

The second entry from Russian director Alexy Fedorchenko (SFIFF 2011’s excellent Silent Souls) didn’t seem to have a bike featured that I saw, but it did feature a mad scientist-style widower trying out his time-travel camera/machine. The machine doesn’t quite work as expected: instead of seeing all of what happened back in time, he sees only a narrow POV, and these clipped images are frustrating to our scientist. He eventually gives up on his bug-filled computer program to focus on obtainable delights in the present — namely, his vivacious aerobic dancing lady neighbor. This was my favorite segment of the three some fine acting and acrobatic photography.

..

Four people dressed like Michael Jackson video extras from the 80s hoop and holler their way through a deserted Polish town in the strong third section from newcomer director Jan Kwiecinski. The town is emptied out because a massive flood is approaching. But rather than get to higher ground, our anti-heroes prefer to run amok, without fear of judgement, in a place where they probably never felt like they belonged.

A scene from Jan Kwiecinski’s entry in the three-part film THE FOURTH DIMENSION, playing at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 19 – May 3, 2012. (Courtesy of San Francisco Film Society.)

This one featured a bike, too: The young toughs zip around on some random commuter-style machine. (I’m surprised no one yelled at the screen when they rolled through a stop sign.) It looks like a bike-share model: sturdy basket in back, step-through frame. Perfect for cruising any dimension.

Director Kwiecinski said they had to digitally erase some people seen on camera to maintain that deserted-town look. Apparently there’s one follow they missed: in the Q&A someone asked about some random guy seen on a porch. Oh? I guess we forgot one, said Kwiecinski. Kwiecinski’s entry has loads of atmosphere — a nice debut from the Warsaw native, who was spotted dancing like a maniac at the Grolsch-powered after-party.

.

Gimme The Loot

Tashiana Washington and Ty Hickson in a scene from Adam Leon’s GIMME THE LOOT, playing at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 19 – May 3, 2012. (Courtesy of San Francisco Film Society)

The second film of the evening was Adam Leon’s Gimme the Loot, a love story centered around two graffiti artists who want to “bomb” (tag) the fiberglass apple that pops up in Citi Field whenever the NY Mets go yard. It’s a young love story, and a love letter to New York City locations: East Village, Tudor City, Bronx, and Queens locations give it an authentic feel. There were a few incidental shots of NYC ‘s much lauded (and debated) street-scape featuring new separated bike lanes, which was nice to see. The young heroine Sophie, played by feisty Tashiana Washington, has a ten-speed which she gets ripped off when she leaves it on the street unlocked. Curses!

“It really stank of New York,” Worst Show On the Web co-host Harry Duke said during the Q&A afterward, meaning it as a compliment, which was exactly how director Leon, a NYC native, and producer/location manager Sam Soghor took it. Soghor is a licensed NYC tour guide, and familiar with off-the-tourist-map NY. It should be noted this is the second year in a row where a Festival film features Willets Point, the ramshackle “auto-repair mall” in the shadow of Citi Field (see Foreign Parts from SFIFF 11).

So kudos to the filmmakers for their work and for featuring bicycles — not as subjects, but rather objects. (That’s just fine: bikes should be ordinary, commonplace and used every day.)